Do you want to speak like a TED Talk pro? What are some of the top TED talks to learn the art of public speaking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Bill Gates’ legendary mosquito speech to Jill Taylor’s stroke story, there is a ton of great TED talks out there about pretty much anything you can think of. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, watching the top TED talks is a great place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep reading for 10 top TED talks of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Are schools stifling creativity? Why do people make irrational decisions<\/a>? How can I find happiness? Here are 10 Top TED talks that answer it all and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2008, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor gave a TED talk<\/a> about a severe stroke she\u2019d suffered 12 years earlier. She described in detail how she slowly felt her brain function deteriorating as the stroke progressed. Taylor also discussed the spiritual awakening that her stroke triggered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The response to Taylor\u2019s TED talk was overwhelmingly positive. It was the first TED talk to go \u201cviral\u201d online, quickly accumulating millions of views. It is still one of the top TED talks in terms of views. In the aftermath of the talk, Taylor\u2019s book detailing her stroke and recovery process became a bestseller and was translated into 30 languages. TIME <\/em>magazine named her as one of the top 100 most influential people of 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to Taylor\u2019s talk\u2019s success lay in her true passion for her subject. She was fascinated by and enthusiastic about the topic, not only because it related to a transformative experience in her life, but also because she was a trained neuroanatomist. Even before her stroke, Taylor\u2019s life\u2019s work and passion had been studying the brain and its workings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This passion shone through as Taylor gave her TED talk. Her enthusiasm and energy were infectious, and the result was a speech that captivated millions of people worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2009, professor and author Dan Ariely gave a memorable TED talk<\/a> on why people predictably and consistently make irrational decisions. He began his talk with a gripping personal story about his experience in a hospital burn unit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a teenager, Ariely suffered severe burns to 70% of his body. When the time came for the nurses to remove his bandages, they decided to rip them off quickly, theorizing that this would minimize his discomfort. Ariely begged the nurses to go slower, as he felt it would make the pain less intense. However, the nurses argued that since they were medically trained and Ariely wasn\u2019t, they knew better than him. Years later, Ariely discovered that taking the bandages off slowly would <\/em>have reduced the intensity of his pain. The nurses\u2019 decision had been totally illogical\u2014yet they\u2019d persisted with it anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ariely\u2019s story was effective at gripping his audience for two reasons. First, it was detailed\u2014sometimes graphically so, especially when he described the different methods of removing bandages from burns. This immersed Ariely\u2019s audience in his story, keeping them hooked until the very end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, the big reveal of Ariely\u2019s story\u2014the fact that he was right and the nurses wrong\u2014was unexpected. Most people would expect medical professionals to know more about the correct way to remove bandages than their patients. The fact they didn\u2019t in this case shocked Ariely\u2019s audience into paying attention<\/a> to the rest of his talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert Ballard is a deep-sea explorer who\u2019s best known for finding the wreckage of the Titanic<\/em>. In 2008, Ballard gave a TED talk<\/a> about the oceans, incorporating the things he\u2019d learned from more than 100 deep-sea explorations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During his talk, Ballard presented the audience with numerous little-known facts about the underwater world\u2014for example, the fact that the Earth\u2019s longest mountain range is under the sea. He also surprised the crowd with the knowledge that the deep seas are teeming with life, despite being cloaked in near-perpetual darkness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ballard challenged people\u2019s perceptions of underwater biology and geography. His talk gripped the audience, who ultimately gave him a standing ovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill Gates\u2019s 2009 TED talk<\/a> is one of the top TED talks of all time. It arguably contained the most shocking moment in TED history. Gates\u2019s speech discussed various global issues, including the threat that malaria-infected mosquitoes posed to some of the world\u2019s poorest communities. Partway through his talk, Gates revealed a surprising prop he\u2019d brought along: a jar of live mosquitoes. He then released the insects into the auditorium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The mosquitoes weren\u2019t infected with malaria, and therefore posed no risk to the audience. However, the act of exposing people to these potentially deadly insects was enough to shock both Gates\u2019s audience and the world\u2019s media, who reported on the incident extensively. Gates\u2019s speech quickly went viral, and has now been viewed more than 5 million times on the TED website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2006, author and education expert Sir Ken Robinson gave a TED talk<\/a> on how the American education system stifles creativity. Despite his topic being fairly heavy, Robinson managed to inject a lot of humor into his talk. He made witty comments about everything from how seriously teenagers treat their romantic relationships, to how\u2014in his eyes\u2014Shakespeare must have been an annoying child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robinson\u2019s talk has been lauded as one of the top TED talks of all time. He received a standing ovation, and his speech has since been viewed more than 66 million times on the TED website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Janine Shepherd is an Australian former skier whose burgeoning Olympic career was ended by an accident that left her partially paraplegic. Shepherd was biking along a path in the Blue Mountains near Sydney when she was struck by a truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2012, Shepherd gave a TED talk<\/a> about the accident and her life since it occured. She described the accident in vivid detail: the beautiful weather that day, the sun shining on her face as she cycled along, the feeling of the cold mountain air in her lungs\u2014and the moment when everything went black. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shepherd didn\u2019t use a single visual prompt when describing the incident: She showed her audience no slides or pictures. Instead, she immersed her readers in her story by painting a picture with her words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Neil Pasricha is a writer who came to prominence through his popular blog, 1000 Awesome Things<\/em>. Each blog entry discusses a different simple thing that can make you happy or enrich your life\u2014for example, Christmas Day being snowy, or your birthday being on a Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Pasricha was asked to give a TED talk<\/a> on his blog, he knew he couldn\u2019t mention all 1,000 \u201cawesome things\u201d in 18 minutes. So he limited himself to discussing just three things: having a positive attitude, indulging your inner child<\/a>, and being authentic. Pasricha\u2019s talk has quickly become one of the top TED talks and has now been watched online by millions of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When musician Amanda Palmer was preparing to give a TED talk<\/a> in 2013, she practiced relentlessly\u2014especially in front of people who could provide feedback on her progress. She practiced in front of friends, family, students at an art school in Boston, and even a total stranger in a bar. She practiced on the plane on the way to the TED conference and continued to do so right up until the moment she gave her talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Palmer practiced, she became more and more comfortable and familiar with all elements of her talk\u2014her words, her verbal delivery, her body language<\/a>, and her gestures. Her talk was the most discussed presentation at the conference. It was praised for being both gripping and authentic. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Jill Bolte Taylor<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dan Ariely<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Robert Ballard<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bill Gates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sir Ken Robinson<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Janine Shepherd<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Neil Pasricha<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Amanda Palmer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hans Rosling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n